


Ad Astra

by Akallabeth



Category: The Goblin Emperor - Katherine Addison
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Pre-Canon, Yuletide Treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:35:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28284834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akallabeth/pseuds/Akallabeth
Summary: Dach'osmin Tativin returns to court for the summer, and catches up with her best friend.
Comments: 32
Kudos: 72
Collections: Yuletide 2020





	Ad Astra

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Bethynyc](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bethynyc/gifts).



> Set ~5 years pre-canon.

With a determined air, Dach'osmin Aizheän Tativin hurled herself in the chair opposite the Archduchess Vedero Drazhin. She punctuated this with what could only be described as an exaggerated—nearly theatrical—sigh. 

Vedero smiled into her book. “I am pleased to see thee, Aizheän.” She reached for the bell-pull, sending the attending maid for tea and a footstool, and directing the page-boy at her door to admit no further visitors.

“Six months!” Aizheän groaned. “Half a year's work wasted, and all over a faulty pressure gauge.”

“Surely there is something to be salvaged from the effort?”

“Undoubtedly. But I am cross, and the weather is disobliging, and it will be months before another prototype can be cast.” She accepted the cup of strong, unsweetened tea Vedero handed over, finally sitting up straight. “What of thy comet?”

“It passed through its perhelion nine days before the spring equinox. I have written to Mer Nereshar about my observations on the tail shape, but the university is preoccupied with whether it is a previously unidentified comet or a whether Evrar's Comet has returned two years earlier than anticipated.”

“And what dost thou think?” Aizheän was by now fully engaged in the conversation—feet flat on her stool, head bend slightly forward, and unconsciously tapping on her teacup. It was when she conducted herself with proper courtly deportment that Dach'osmin Tativin was most likely to be ignoring her surroundings in favor of dreaming up designs for boilers and armatures and more efficient steam-engines.

“That we have too few reliable records of old sightings to say for certain.” Vedero sipped her tea. “But I find the gravitational argument for variable comet duration compelling, and hope to prove it one day.”

Aizheän raised her tea-cup as though for a toast. “And what of court? Hast thou met any new friends over the winter?”

Vedero glanced towards each of the doors out of habit, however harmless the gossip.

“There is another Ceredada sister who looks promising”, she allowed. “She has good conversation, but is less than forthcoming about her interests.”

Aizheän considered this. “I should like to meet her. One of the Dach'osmin Ceredadins married last year, did she not?”  
“The eldest. She came back for Winternight, but is summering at her husband's estates. The new one, Csethiro, arrived at the beginning of winter.”  
“And the other debutantes?” 

“There is an Osmin Bazhevin, who is is rather shy and eager to please. Osmin Celehin seems to be making a hobby of embarrassing Osmin Bazhevin at court functions--edging her out of dance sets, and the like. The only other one staying on at court is Dach'osmin Tethimin, who cannot be older than fourteen.” 

Aizheän quirked an eyebrow and Vedero adopted a carefully neutral expression. It was familiar--the same bland mask she habitually wore outside her own quarters. “Nazhira thinks the Tethimada are eyeing the crown matrimonial.”

Aizheän's ears flattened. “A fourteen-year old? He cannot be serious. What do thy other brothers think?”

“Ciris expects that the Duke Tethimel is angling to get her established at court while there are still two unmarried archdukes—three to be honest, though I doubt poor Maia is the intended goal. Nemolis seems to think this is some sort of a feint, possibly intended to see me married to Dach'osmer Tethimar, or in the longer term to betroth a younger daughter to Idra.”

Aizheän shorted her disapproval. “And what is thy analysis?”

“That I have little evidence to elevate one hypothesis over another. The duke—and especially his vile son—have something in mind, possibly several contingency plans. Whatever their specific goal, I believe them ambitious enough to accept any of those matches, or to use the possibility of one to bring about another more greatly desired.”

Aizheän set down her empty cup. “And that sort of nonsense is why even thy company can not hold me in court all year. I do not know how thou stands it. Truly.”

Vedero gave her friend a rueful smile. “If I could manage it, I would flee to the countryside and stay there. Annoy the Emperor just enough, get exiled to a secluded estate, and set up my telescope.”

“The light would be better.” Both women fell silent. It was a nice dream—old, familiar—but too fraught with practicalities. Daughters could be dispensed with in more time-honored ways. Any outright rebellion was more likely than not to mean the loss of Vedero's limited freedoms--probably starting with her telescope, and ending with marriage to a dependably narrow-minded peer. 

“Well, if we cannot arrange for an extended visit to thy youngest brother, we will need to take matters into our own hands,” Aizheän declared. 

Vedero laughed. “What did we say when we were children? That we would lock all the 'eligible suitors' in the dungeon, and eat cake until they gave up and promised to to go away?” 

“Well, that was certainly be more humane than my idea of driving them all in the sea with a magic flute, like in the wonder-tale.”

“Switching their hunting dogs for sheep-dogs trained to keep them away--”

“Becoming a maza, and turning invisible to avoid them--” 

“Getting Nemolis to ban suitors when he became emperor.” 

“The scope might be overly-broad, but the premise is not unsound”, Aizheän pointed out. “Hast thou asked him? Seriously—not with bribes of marchpane.” 

Vedero shook her head slowly. “I could not put him in that position, of having to refuse such a request. Not when the matter might be settled years before he could act, anyway. Everyone knows I do not desire marriage, and Nazhira in particular has helped dissipate a few prospective proposals, but... Archduchesses marry, or not, to suit the dynasty.“

Aizheän expressed her opinion on the state of the world with a muffled stomp on her footstool. “What thou needeth is a unicorn: protector of virgins, and so on. It can deal with Dach'osmer Tethimar and his ilk, while thou gets on with calculating orbits and recording transits, and all.”

“Unfortunately, Osmin Alchenin has not successfully bred a unicorn from her stud farm.”

“Alas. But how is Doru's manuscript progressing? Has she found a publisher yet? I could use a break from pneumatics if she wants a proof-reader. Oh, and how was that lens grinder from Cetho? I thought thy schematic quite clever—has the new telescope been finished? I want to see how the increased focal length alters the resolution.”

***  
Six months later, a special courier arrived from Thu-Istandaär with a crate addressed to the Archduchess Vedero Drazhin. Inside, beneath the detailed handling instructions and many emphatic inscriptions of “Fragile” and “Do not even contemplate dropping this box”, was an elegant spiraling unicorn's horn nestled carefully in straw.


End file.
